Glenn Holt nearly returned a kickoff for a touchdown. The Kickoff team recovered an unexpected on-side kick. Shayne Graham converted all three field goals (41, 31, 40). Except for the Kyries Hebert illegal touching that nullified a Kyle Larson punt to the three-yard line (moving it to the 20), the Bengals special teams did pretty good.

You hate to blame one play in a 60-minute NFL game as the reason why the Bengals lost. But it's sort of hard to ignore Chris Perry's fumble.

Bob Bratkowski on his job: "Oh, it's no fun at all. But it's my job and, just like everybody else, we keep going forward. You have to have a short memory, and you have to go forward. That's what we do. You have very little time to sit around and feel sorry for yourself or pout because the next (game) comes up real fast."

10 reasons why the Bengals stink.

There's something about playing the NFC East on the road.

But a loss is a loss.

Cedric Benson provided some spark on the ground Sunday, recording 30 rushing yards on 10 attempts.

Even though the Bengals are 0-5, they're keeping their heads up, reflecting on the positives.

Chad Johnson on not getting the ball in the first half: "I had to keep my focus, keep my composure. I waited until I got my opportunity."

But that was the point of Sunday's game, wasn't it? Missed opportunities.

Pragmatic is correct to have more faith in our defense than our offense. I'm the same way. It's ridiculous, but look at it this way; our offense is an expensively group that's expected to win ball games. Our defense is built with a lot of youth that are simply expected to keep us in the ball game; not to win them, but not lose them either. In back-to-back weeks, the defense held up their obligation keeping the Bengals in games while the offense actually expects to receive 70% of the team's payroll. AFTER that?!

Notes: The Bengals have rushed on the left side of the line (between the left guard to outside the left tackle, or tight end) 21 times. They've rushed on the right side of the line 19 times. They've rushed up the gut 12 times. They're greatest success is behind Stacy Andrews with a 4.50 yards-per-attempt average.

I'll be bold enough to say that I believe that the Bengals defense could win us games based on a majority of their performances. However, it's all mute until they minimize (hopefully, eliminate) the big plays.

So, when Ben Utecht went down it "disrupted" the offensive gameplan. Now, actually adjusting the gameplan because of circumstances (such as injury, or Hurricane-gusts) is... well... it just doesn't happen.

Notes II: The Bengals have attempted just seven passes deep -- five of them down the middle; one down the left sidelines, one down the right sidelines.

Palmer on the crowd booing the Bengals offense: "It doesn't feel good. You just can't let it distract you. You can't let it affect your focus." Why not let it motivate you?

Aren't we any more clever than having "blown" out jokes about Sunday's game in relation to the wind?

Notes III: The Bengals haven't scored in the first or third quarters this season. For the past two seasons, the Bengals always struggling scoring at the opening quarter of either half.

Kyries Hebert had a Beasty ride with a fair catch interference foul (that led to a Tennessee touchdown), got a hand on a Craig Hentrich punt (that led to the Bengals' lone touchdown), then recovered a fumbled snap on punt.

Houshmandzadeh weights in and says it's not the receivers fault as to why the offense is struggling: "It's not because we're not getting separation," Houshmandzadeh said of the receivers. "If I'm covered, I tell you I'm getting covered. If I think Chad is getting covered, he'll tell you he's not getting open. I don't think that's the case. Some coaches or whoever might not think that. I don't think that's the case. I couldn't explain to you why we're not scoring points and not moving the ball. I'm as confused as everybody else is."

Notes IV: The Bengals are pace for 152 first downs this season. They've averaged 325 over the course of the past three seasons.

The 51-yard Chris Johnson run could be labeled the game-changer. The Bengals were close to getting the ball back before the half, and elected to stop the clock. Instead, the Titans scored a touchdown. "Obviously I gave up the big play with the big run," safety Chinedum Ndukwe reflected," I have to try to make that play the next time. Overall I felt pretty good. I have to get down and make that play. That's what I get paid to do."

Hopefully Ndukwe doesn't beat himself too much about it. Ten other Bengals defenders weren't even close; at least he was in position.

Last week, James Walker listed Carson Palmer and Chris Perry on his "who's not" (hot). This week, it's the entire Bengals offense.

Michael Lombardi after giving the Bengals offense a "D" (and he addresses good points):

The Cincinnati Bengals offense. I feel bad for quarterback Carson Palmer. In Palmer's last 10 games played, his quarterback rating is 77 and is averaging only 6.57 yards per pass attempt. Last week against the Ravens, Palmer and the Bengals offense mustered only 99 yards passing and yesterday against the Titans, they added just 137. Palmer is throwing for less than a 50 percent completion ratio and has no touchdowns passes and three interceptions in two games. And people want to call this an explosive offense?

What has gone wrong? Well for one, opposing defenses no longer respect their run game. They are willing to play a seven-man front on the Bengals and live with running back Chris Perry trying to beat them. Perry, who has fumbled three times in two games (losing one), has averaged under 3 yards a carry and his longest run is only 13 yards.

For this spread type of offense to be successful, it has to have the ability to run teams out of cover 2 and force the defense to add the eighth man to the box for run support. As long as defenses can play pass coverage and jam the wide receiver formerly known as Chad Johnson at the line, this offense will keep producing pathetic numbers.

Dave doesn't mind the aggressive approach that Lewis had Sunday against the Titans.

We were wondering during Thursday Night's preseason game how the Bengals running back roster would look kickoff weekend. Curnutte believes the Bengals will dump Rudi Johnson and keep Chris Perry, Kenny Watson and DeDe Dorsey on the roster, placing James Johnson on the practice squad after his performance against the Colts.

James Johnson's ran eight times for 54 yards against the Colts with a 42-yard play midway through the fourth quarter. Without that 42-yard run, Johnson rushes seven times for 12 yards. DeDe Dorsey had a nice night rushing for 4.2 yards-per-carry (38 yards, nine attempts), including a six-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter. Kenny Watson had the worst night among running backs (well, other than Rudi Johnson of course) with a 1.6 yards-per-carry average (10 yards, six rushes). In the game, the Bengals rushed for 171 yards on 38 attempts (4.5 average).

Ironically enough, Ryan Fitzpatrick finished the preseason out-rushing Kenny Watson and DeDe Dorsey.

The Bengals leading receivers this preseason were two guys not on the roster last season. Jerome Simpson caught the most passes (11) and recorded the most yards (157). Ben Utecht's 10 receptions and 108 yards receiving ranked second in each category. Glenn Holt is the only player to record more than one touchdown reception. In fact, he has two of the team's three total passing touchdowns with Utecht having the other.

Domata Peko is the only defensive lineman with more than one sack, with one-sack performances coming from Robert Geathers, Michael Myers, Jason Shirley, and Angelo Craig. Darryl Blackstock (2), Keith Rivers, Kyries Herbert, and Dexter Jackson also recorded sacks.

The preseason question of finding that number three receiver was answered, by signing Chris Henry. However suspended through the first four games, it would appear that Simpson has the edge at that spot; but Chatman could find himself there based on whether the Bengals feel confident that Simpson knows the playbook.

Kyle Larson punted a whopping 28 times (average seven-per-game) with a pedestrian 41.9 average.

Even I was pleased with the performance of Ahmad Brooks. But I don't think that the final preseason game against a team that played few, if any, of their starters is that much of a reason to keep him. I still think he's on the chopping block, and I think that if Brooks was good enough, that he wouldn't have fallen so far, so quickly, on the depth chart and been mediocre in the other preseason games. Then again, the Bengals coaching staff loves projects with players that have potential (see Eric Henderson and Stacy Andrews -- who actually worked out).

Are people actually considering Fitzpatrick the better starting quarterback in Cincinnati?

I really enjoyed Fitzpatrick's performance this preseason. He had the best quarterback play, recording a 104.2 passer rating, no picks and two scores. Along with his 218 yards passing (which is second, behind Jeff Rowe's 228), Fitzpatrick added 79 yards rushing (scrambling). However, we don't need is a scrambling quarterback. What we need is our two Pro Bowl wide receivers back without protection breakdowns that force our quarterbacks to scramble. All of which, I believe, will return by kickoff weekend.

Along with Keith Rivers, I think Corey Lynch is one of the most impressive defensive rookies. Even though Pat Sims didn't record those key numbers (which is normal for a defensive tackle), I liked his motor with his noticeable intensity. With Shirley coming on against the Colts, I think the Bengals are close to having a solid defensive tackle rotation. Given more experience with the rookies, and the noticeable improvement with Domata Peko, there's a lot to look forward to this group. Once John Thornton leaves after this season, the Bengals could either draft another defensive tackle in the 2009 NFL Draft, or develop Antwon Burton with the practice squad this season.

Secondary-wise, I think this unit is much better than last season -- or the year before that, or the year before that. Johnathan Joseph was an aggressive hitter during the preseason, coming up to the line of scrimmage when the opposing team rushed to his side. He played the island role, along with Leon Hall, as best as we could expect of them. While big-body wide receivers will generally always have their way with most NFL cornerbacks, I didn't think to myself that our young cornerbacks will be problematic.

My biggest concern wasn't the secondary against the rush, nor the play of our starting cornerbacks. It was our safeties against the pass, allowing the opposing wide receiver to stream past them. This didn't happen against the Colts as much as it did in the first preseason games. Still, Corey Lynch and Marvin White are young enough to learn from it and become better as the season wears on. Not to mention Chinedum Ndukwe missed the preseason.

I do believe, however, that our secondary is as deep as it has ever been during the Marvin Lewis era.

Like many of you, I just don't know what to expect this season. On one hand, this team is talented enough among their starters; everyone returns, the protection schemes improve and the rushing attack is actually meaningful. On the other hand, we could the regular season become an extension of the preseason becoming the worst season during the Marvin Lewis era. Either way, the critical aspect for success on this team will be the offense. An improved defense will be icing on the cake, that could find themselves in the role to win games if the offense sputters.

In the end, your guess is as good as mine.

Marvin Lewis expects Keith Rivers to "play some" on Monday night against the Packers. Rivers' deal is apparently six years, $4 million more than Jerod May and worth $23 million if his "contract maxes out". If there's some proof that Rivers is going to be a good pickup, he texted several team mates, was already in Cincinnati just waiting for everything to be worked out.

When Levi Jones (who rested Wednesday night) is out of the lineup, Andrew Whitworth moves to left tackle, Stacy Andrews to left guard and Willie Anderson to right tackle. Jesus, we have some serious depth and options on the offensive line -- which includes praises from Anthony Munoz to rookie tackle, Anthony Collins: "I like him a lot. He moves around real well. I think he's got a great future." With our offensive line, our improved defense (sorry, drinking the Kool-aid) and a general upgrade on the coaching staff, how can you not be optimistic this year.

College free agent wide receiver, Travis Brown, was waived Wednesday night after suffering a hamstring injury.

C Trent writes, "since coming back, I don't think I've seen a ball thrown near Chad Johnson that's been dropped." But I loved this comment, "Willie ate up Geathers. Some talking between the two." Big Willie is still the man.

Chinedum Ndukwe and the Bengals are awaiting MRI results after Ndukwe's knee gave out scaring the hell out of every loving Bengals fan, teammates and coaches. There seems to be optimism that he'll be fine in terms of complete 2008 season, but could miss four to six weeks, which leads right into kickoff weekend. And if he can't return, then John Lynch is available. Just saying.

Palmer will get roughly 10-15 snaps Monday Night (we'll discuss later). Chris Perry has missed just one practice since Friday's scrimmage.

The Bengals are incorporating double tight end sets and, well, players are really liking it.

DeDe Dorsey returned to camp, and fumbled. Says Ludwig, "If Dorsey gets cut, here’s the reason why — BALL SECURITY! He fumbles too often in practice." Then again, it seems that the James Johnson love-fest has simmered.

Kyries Hebert has no plans going back to the CFL.

However, when Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, who is apparently a big fan of tough love, heard that Hebert was once the CFL's highest-paid defensive player, he noted, "They must not be too careful about their spending up there."

Kickers Shayne Graham and Kyle Larson are prepping a showdown between their schools, Virginia Tech (Graham) and Nebraska (Larson) on September 27.

Former Bengals center, Alex Stepanovich has been practicing with the first team because regular starter Todd McClure (working on a streak of 96 consecutive starts), has been out of camp "with a lower back injury".

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle, Casey Hampton, is doing a Jeremi Johnson -- working on getting into shape after being a bit heavy. Big Ben won't play against the Eagles in the Steelers opening pre-season game.

Browns position battles.